Providing this month’s tips is Pete Brownless Nursery Supervisor at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Garden tips for May
As the temperatures rise and the days lengthen, late spring is a great time to get out into your garden and tackle jobs that will set it up for summer.
SAVE OUR G&TS Scotland’s juniper has been devastated
by a deadly fungal disease. In order to record the health of the plant, which is famously used to make gin, Plantlife Scotland is looking for volunteers to help it record the health of juniper throughout Scotland. If you would like to take part in the survey then a downloadable form is available from
www.plantlife.org.uk/scotland
Gardeners’ Eden The national gardening and outdoor
living show, Gardening Scotland 2014, will open on 30 May. For three days, the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh will be transformed into a paradise for plant lovers. The event is the biggest plant fair in the country, packed with top nurseries. Experts from the Royal Horticultural Society and the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society will be on hand with sound advice and 400 exhibitors will sell every possible gardening accessory. Tel: 0131 333 0965,
www.gardeningscotland. com.
Don’t disregard the importance of the lawn: if it is well-kept it can really help set-off your borders. Aim to cut the grass once a week, reducing the height of the cut if your mower has that facility. Try to pick days when the grass is dry: early evening is often a good time to tackle this task. If your lawn has any dead patches, it is still not too late to treat them to a sprinkling of grass seed – just remember to water the areas concerned, if the weather turns dry. The fi nal touch is to tidy up the edges with the use of a half moon, then trim with edging shears to present a good, crisp, appearance.
As every gardener knows all too well, it is not just the plants that want to flourish at this time of year. Weed seeds will be germinating continually and perennial weeds are starting to grow strongly. Try to catch annual weeds when they are still small and do it regularly. Breezy, sunny, days are good in helping ensure the weeds wither quickly and do not re-establish. Perennial weeds can be smothered with thick polythene, made more aesthetically pleasing with a mulch of garden compost.
Now, we can turn our attention to the plants. Tie in the new growth on your climbers to ensure they give an even coverage of fl owers. Deadhead rhododendrons and feed late-fl owering shrubs. Stake herbaceous plants so they do not fl op, paying particular
attention to the taller ones at the back of the border and oriental poppies at the front as these should be brimming with buds. In late May, consider giving some herbaceous plants the ‘Chelsea
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH 20A INVERLEITH ROW TEL: 0131 248 2909
WWW.RBGE.ORG.UK
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 119
chop’ to restrict their size and help control their fl owering season. The basic rule is perennials that fl ower only once – such as peonies, irises and aquilegias – should not be chopped or you will lose the fl owers. Plants that benefi t include campanulas, sedums, rudbeckias and asters.
While most parts of Scotland should be frost-free by mid- May, it is still wise to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to cover any vulnerable plants with fleece if low temperatures are forecast.
Look out for good-quality bedding plants with trays that are full, disease free and showing lots of buds. Harden them off gently for a few days as they are likely to have been in a greenhouse or tunnel before being put on sale.
Plant-up your containers and keep in a sheltered, slightly shady spot for a while until they get established, keep them well watered before moving them to their final position.
This is also a good time to sow quick-growing annuals such as ‘night-scented-stock’, godetia and calendula. Use them to fi ll gaps in the border or in pots on the patio for a splash of colour.
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